Voting bill part of our state legacy

Three of our local state representatives were at City Hall Tuesday in support of a bill to strengthen and simplify the voting process.

The bill, which was passed unanimously by the House, would establish early voting during presidential elections, provide resources to make the voting process more efficient, and offer an online portal to aid voter registration and verification.

Not many people were on hand to hear the three legislators, John Mahoney, Mary Keefe and Daniel Donahue, but that didn't seem to matter. They duly delivered their remarks as if a thousand people were in attendance.

"When other states are making it more difficult to vote, Massachusetts is making it easier," Rep. Mahoney said. "We are leading the nation and going on the right side of history."

These are not the empty words of a politician, as Lee Bona, who heads the local chapter of the League of Women Voters, noted.

"We come from a long history of people who have made noise throughout the centuries in righting wrongs and pushing for social justice."

Ms. Bona noted that the state's role in the suffrage movement is well documented, with the first and the second National Women's Rights Conventions being held in Worcester in 1850 and 1851.

"We are a working-class people and we stand up for ourselves and for each other. The truth is we have sort of been a bit lax over the past several years. We need to make more noise for social justice and for every citizen to have a voice in shaping who we are as a country."

While some might be critical of Massachusetts liberalism, of its economic philosophy, particularly in regard to taxes and fees, very few states have the track record the commonwealth has in promoting social justice and quality of life for its residents.

The bill on early voting had its opponents in the House, but in the end it was passed unanimously. We had a Republican governor when the state's precedent-setting health care law was passed. It passed because fairness and justice prevailed. This is something of which Massachusetts residents should be proud.

One need only look at Texas to understand that justice and fairness in the United States are governed not so much by the Constitution, but by where you reside.

In Texas, the federal government has joined two lawsuits challenging a redistricting plan and a voter ID law in the state, both of which the federal government said will adversely impact minority voters. The state is unmoved by the fed's involvement.

"It is perfectly constitutional for a Republican-controlled legislature to make partisan districting decisions, even if there are incidental effects on minority voters who support Democratic candidates," the state wrote in a legal brief supporting its redistricting plan.

In Texas, about 6 million residents are without health insurance, including 38 percent of its Latinos, the second-largest group in the state. In all, about 24 percent of Texas' residents are uninsured, compared to about 4 percent in Massachusetts.

Yet, the state has refused to expand its Medicaid coverage which, under Obamacare, would allow its working poor to get affordable health insurance. This refusal to expand its Medicaid coverage comes despite the federal government's commitment to pay between 90 and 100 percent of the expansion's cost.

As states such as Texas attempt to export their brand of social injustice to the rest of the country, it is comforting to have a state like Massachusetts that is just as willing to stand as a steady bulwark against such meanness.